February 16, 2024 NYT Clues Solutions | XWordHint

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

• Puzzle Overview & Difficulty
• Across Clues (33 clues)
• Down Clues (39 clues)
• Category Breakdown
• Complete Puzzle Statistics
• Pro Solving Tips

Puzzle Overview & Difficulty Analysis

Date: Friday, February 16, 2024

Difficulty Level: Moderate Wednesday Puzzle

Total Clues: 72 (33 Across, 39 Down)

Average Word Length: 5.4 letters

February 16, 2024 Friday NYT - Complete Across Solutions

No.	Clue	Letters
1A	1. Deciding contest	6
2A	7. Musical whose preshow warning about cellphone use says that knights "may drag you onstage and impale you"	8
3A	15. God on a mission?	6
4A	16. Cry after a windfall	8
5A	17. Louisiana ___, religion with West African roots	6
6A	18. Bit of gear for gliding	8
7A	19. Personal struggles personified	11
8A	21. ___ Carter, most-recorded jazz bassist in history	3
9A	22. Critics' picks, informally	4
10A	23. Eldest daughter of Oceanus and mother of Nike	4
11A	25. Source of milk for Manchego cheese	3
12A	28. Comme ci, comme ça	4
13A	30. European airline that was nationalized from 1944 to 2001	6
14A	34. Boston Harbor detritus, once	4
15A	36. Cartoonist Groening	4
16A	38. Hands and feet	5
17A	39. Trancelike state during a monotonous drive	15
18A	42. Northern hemisphere?	5
19A	43. Antivenoms, e.g.	4
20A	44. World's rarest goose	4
21A	45. Symbol found in Pac-Man and on slot machines	6
22A	47. Going ___	4
23A	49. Rode the bench	3
24A	50. First, and so far only, chimpanzee to orbit Earth	4
25A	52. Its tributaries have colorful names	4
26A	54. Cry from Homer	3
27A	57. "I want to, but really I shouldn't ..."	11
28A	62. [Violin emoji]	8
29A	64. Stand-up person?	6
30A	65. "You did great!"	8
31A	66. Moving company?	6
32A	67. Suboptimal ending	8
33A	68. Name on an envelope	6

Let's Solve the Across Clues Together!

Here are helpful hints to solve each clue. Remember, crossword puzzles are like word games - have fun with them!

Clue 1 Across: "1. Deciding contest"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that the occurrence of surplus liquid (as water) exceeding the limit or capacity
• Words that mean the same thing: overspill, overflow
• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: RUNOFF

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 2 Across: "7. Musical whose preshow warning about cellphone use says that knights "may drag you onstage and impale you""

Quick Info: This answer has 8 letters. It's a expert clue about history.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: SPAMALOT

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 3 Across: "15. God on a mission?"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a expert clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that (greek mythology) greek god of light; god of prophecy and poetry and music and healing; son of zeus and leto; twin brother of artemis
• Words that mean the same thing: Phoebus Apollo, Phoebus
• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: APOLLO

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 4 Across: "16. Cry after a windfall"

Quick Info: This answer has 8 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: WERERICH

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 5 Across: "17. Louisiana ___, religion with West African roots"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a charm superstitiously believed to embody magical powers
• Words that mean the same thing: juju, voodooism, hoodoo
• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: VOODOO

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 6 Across: "18. Bit of gear for gliding"

Quick Info: This answer has 8 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: ICESKATE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 7 Across: "19. Personal struggles personified"

Quick Info: This answer has 11 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ___________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: INNERDEMONS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 8 Across: "21. ___ Carter, most-recorded jazz bassist in history"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a medium clue about history.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a chadic language spoken in northern nigeria
• Words that mean the same thing: Daffo, Bokkos
• The word looks like this: ___
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: RON

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 9 Across: "22. Critics' picks, informally"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: RECS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 10 Across: "23. Eldest daughter of Oceanus and mother of Nike"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a hard clue about geography.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that (greek mythology) a river in hades across which charon carried dead souls
• Words that mean the same thing: River Styx
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: STYX

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 11 Across: "25. Source of milk for Manchego cheese"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a medium clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a member of a people living in southern benin and togo and southeastern ghana
• The word looks like this: ___
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: EWE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 12 Across: "28. Comme ci, comme ça"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: SOSO

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 13 Across: "30. European airline that was nationalized from 1944 to 2001"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that an ancient geographical region to the south of the caucasus mountains that corresponded approximately to the present-day georgia
• Words that mean the same thing: Iberian Peninsula
• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: IBERIA

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 14 Across: "34. Boston Harbor detritus, once"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
• Words that mean the same thing: afternoon tea, Camellia sinensis, tea
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: TEAS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 15 Across: "36. Cartoonist Groening"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss
• Words that mean the same thing: mat, matted, matte
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: MATT

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 16 Across: "38. Hands and feet"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange
• Words that mean the same thing: unit, whole, unit of measurement
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: UNITS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 17 Across: "39. Trancelike state during a monotonous drive"

Quick Info: This answer has 15 letters. It's a expert clue about geography.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: _______________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: HIGHWAYHYPNOSIS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 18 Across: "42. Northern hemisphere?"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that an eskimo hut; usually built of blocks (of sod or snow) in the shape of a dome
• Words that mean the same thing: iglu
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: IGLOO

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 19 Across: "43. Antivenoms, e.g."

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that an amber, watery fluid, rich in proteins, that separates out when blood coagulates
• Words that mean the same thing: serum, blood serum
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: SERA

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 20 Across: "44. World's rarest goose"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: NENE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 21 Across: "45. Symbol found in Pac-Man and on slot machines"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that wood of any of various cherry trees especially the black cherry
• Words that mean the same thing: ruby, reddish, cherry red
• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: CHERRY

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 22 Across: "47. Going ___"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
• Words that mean the same thing: charge per unit, pace, place
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: RATE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 23 Across: "49. Rode the bench"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the sabbath by jews and some christians
• Words that mean the same thing: baby-sit, Saturday, pose
• The opposite would be: stand, arise
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: SAT

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 24 Across: "50. First, and so far only, chimpanzee to orbit Earth"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: ENOS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 25 Across: "52. Its tributaries have colorful names"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that the world's longest river (4150 miles); flows northward through eastern africa into the mediterranean; the nile river valley in egypt was the site of the world's first great civilization
• Words that mean the same thing: Nile River
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: NILE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 26 Across: "54. Cry from Homer"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that the syllable naming the first (tonic) note of any major scale in solmization
• Words that mean the same thing: ut, do
• The word looks like this: ___
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: DOH

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 27 Across: "57. "I want to, but really I shouldn't ...""

Quick Info: This answer has 11 letters. It's a expert clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ___________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: DONTTEMPTME

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 28 Across: "62. [Violin emoji]"

Quick Info: This answer has 8 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: OHBOOHOO

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 29 Across: "64. Stand-up person?"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: NOSHOW

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 30 Across: "65. "You did great!""

Quick Info: This answer has 8 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: NICEWORK

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 31 Across: "66. Moving company?"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that organization of performers and associated personnel (especially theatrical)
• Words that mean the same thing: company
• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: TROUPE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 32 Across: "67. Suboptimal ending"

Quick Info: This answer has 8 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: SOURNOTE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 33 Across: "68. Name on an envelope"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that someone who transmits a message
• Words that mean the same thing: transmitter
• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: SENDER

  Great job if you got it right!

February 16, 2024 Friday NYT - All Down Answers

No.	Clue	Letters
1D	1. Sitarist Shankar	4
2D	2. Informed of	4
3D	3. Time to draw?	4
4D	4. "Getting ___ is no problem. You just have to live long enough": Groucho Marx	5
5D	5. Jardín contents	6
6D	6. Post-Thanksgiving meal drowsiness, familiarly	8
7D	7. Compete in a freestyle, e.g.	4
8D	8. Cowboy Bill	5
9D	9. Coy response to a compliment	6
10D	10. Casually chic updo	8
11D	11. Original tablet holder	3
12D	12. Makeup artist?	4
13D	13. Prefix with -genarian	4
14D	14. Storyteller's transition	4
15D	20. Bacon bits	6
16D	24. Noble gas used in propelling ion thrusters	5
17D	25. Code of conduct	5
18D	26. Carefully consider	5
19D	27. Boston College athlete	5
20D	29. Check box in a survey	5
21D	31. Stands	5
22D	32. 1986 rock autobiography	5
23D	33. Selling point	5
24D	35. Prop (up)	5
25D	37. Cruel ruler	6
26D	40. Spent	8
27D	41. Ones in a waiting room	8
28D	46. Drink brand that sounds like a shout	6
29D	48. Novelist Leonard	6
30D	51. Act bullish?	5
31D	53. Printer brand	5
32D	54. Slips into	4
33D	55. Where Life Savers and pop-top cans were both invented	4
34D	56. Howard or Spelman: Abbr.	4
35D	58. Hit, in a way	4
36D	59. Fall sound	4
37D	60. Brood	4
38D	61. It's got a big mouth	4
39D	63. "Jingle Bells" contraction	3

Now Let's Solve the Down Clues!

Down clues go from top to bottom. Use the letters from your across answers to help!

Clue 1 Down: "1. Sitarist Shankar"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: RAVI

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 2 Down: "2. Informed of"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: UPON

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 3 Down: "3. Time to draw?"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that the middle of the day
• Words that mean the same thing: noontide, high noon, twelve noon
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: NOON

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 4 Down: "4. "Getting ___ is no problem. You just have to live long enough": Groucho Marx"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that advanced in years; (`aged' is pronounced as two syllables)
• Words that mean the same thing: sr., senior, erstwhile
• The opposite would be: new, young
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: OLDER

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 5 Down: "5. Jardín contents"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: FLORES

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 6 Down: "6. Post-Thanksgiving meal drowsiness, familiarly"

Quick Info: This answer has 8 letters. It's a hard clue about food & drink.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: FOODCOMA

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 7 Down: "7. Compete in a freestyle, e.g."

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that the act of swimming; :
• Words that mean the same thing: drown, float, swimming
• The opposite would be: sink
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: SWIM

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 8 Down: "8. Cowboy Bill"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a tributary of the rio grande that flows southeastward from new mexico through western texas
• Words that mean the same thing: Pecos River
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: PECOS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 9 Down: "9. Coy response to a compliment"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: ARENTI

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 10 Down: "10. Casually chic updo"

Quick Info: This answer has 8 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: MESSYBUN

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 11 Down: "11. Original tablet holder"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that (judaism) sacred chest where the ancient hebrews kept the two tablets containing the ten commandments
• Words that mean the same thing: Ark of the Covenant
• The word looks like this: ___
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: ARK

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 12 Down: "12. Makeup artist?"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a person who has lied or who lies repeatedly
• Words that mean the same thing: prevaricator
• The opposite would be: square shooter
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: LIAR

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 13 Down: "13. Prefix with -genarian"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: OCTO

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 14 Down: "14. Storyteller's transition"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that that time; that moment
• Words that mean the same thing: so, and so, and then
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: THEN

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 15 Down: "20. Bacon bits"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that an analytic or interpretive literary composition
• Words that mean the same thing: try out, attempt, try
• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: ESSAYS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 16 Down: "24. Noble gas used in propelling ion thrusters"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a colorless odorless inert gaseous element occurring in the earth's atmosphere in trace amounts
• Words that mean the same thing: Xe, atomic number 54
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: XENON

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 17 Down: "25. Code of conduct"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that the principles of right and wrong that are accepted by an individual or a social group
• Words that mean the same thing: value orientation, moral principle, ethical code
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: ETHIC

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 18 Down: "26. Carefully consider"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that have a certain weight
• Words that mean the same thing: press, matter, count
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: WEIGH

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 19 Down: "27. Boston College athlete"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that any of various large keen-sighted diurnal birds of prey noted for their broad wings and strong soaring flight
• Words that mean the same thing: double birdie, bird of Jove
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: EAGLE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 20 Down: "29. Check box in a survey"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied; - the white queen
• Words that mean the same thing: former, early
• The opposite would be: same
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: OTHER

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 21 Down: "31. Stands"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a easy clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a growth in strength or number or importance
• Words that mean the same thing: ascending, hike, wage hike
• The opposite would be: set, fall
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: RISES

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 22 Down: "32. 1986 rock autobiography"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: ITINA

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 23 Down: "33. Selling point"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a useful or valuable quality
• Words that mean the same thing: plus
• The opposite would be: liability
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: ASSET

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 24 Down: "35. Prop (up)"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that the land along the edge of a body of water
• Words that mean the same thing: shoring, prop up, prop
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: SHORE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 25 Down: "37. Cruel ruler"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a cruel and oppressive dictator
• Words that mean the same thing: autocrat, despot
• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: TYRANT

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 26 Down: "40. Spent"

Quick Info: This answer has 8 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: WORNDOWN

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 27 Down: "41. Ones in a waiting room"

Quick Info: This answer has 8 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a person who requires medical care
• Words that mean the same thing: patient role, affected role, patient
• The word looks like this: ________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: PATIENTS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 28 Down: "46. Drink brand that sounds like a shout"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a hard clue about food & drink.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: YOOHOO

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 29 Down: "48. Novelist Leonard"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a medium clue about literature.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: ELMORE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 30 Down: "51. Act bullish?"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a disrespectful laugh
• Words that mean the same thing: raspberry, razz, razzing
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: SNORT

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 31 Down: "53. Printer brand"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: EPSON

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 32 Down: "54. Slips into"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a spanish gentleman or nobleman
• Words that mean the same thing: wear, Don, father
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: DONS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 33 Down: "55. Where Life Savers and pop-top cans were both invented"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a midwestern state in north central united states in the great lakes region
• Words that mean the same thing: OH, Ohio River, Buckeye State
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: OHIO

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 34 Down: "56. Howard or Spelman: Abbr."

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about history.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: HBCU

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 35 Down: "58. Hit, in a way"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a puff of a marijuana or hashish cigarette
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: TOKE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 36 Down: "59. Fall sound"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a heavy dull sound (as made by impact of heavy objects)
• Words that mean the same thing: clump, crump, thump
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: THUD

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 37 Down: "60. Brood"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a easy clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that someone who wastes time
• Words that mean the same thing: mope around, moon around, dillydallier
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: MOPE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 38 Down: "61. It's got a big mouth"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that an open vessel with a handle and a spout for pouring
• Words that mean the same thing: pitcher
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: EWER

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 39 Down: "63. "Jingle Bells" contraction"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ___
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: OER

  Great job if you got it right!

Category Breakdown

Category	Number of Clues	Percentage
General Knowledge	59	81.9%
Short Answer	5	6.9%
History	3	4.2%
Geography	2	2.8%
Food & Drink	2	2.8%
Literature	1	1.4%

Complete Puzzle Statistics

Metric	Value
Across Clues	33
Down Clues	39
Total Clues	72
Average Answer Length	5.4 letters
Shortest Answer	3 letters
Longest Answer	15 letters

Fun Tips to Solve Crossword Puzzles!

• Start with short words first - they're usually easier!
• Look for clues with blanks to fill in - these are like fill-in-the-blank questions at school
• When letters cross, they must be the same in both words - this helps you check if you're right!
• Today is Friday, and these puzzles are usually moderate level
• Most clues today are about general knowledge
• The average word today has about 5 letters
• Remember: It's okay to take breaks and come back later with fresh eyes!
• Ask someone for help if you need it - crosswords are more fun with friends!

Disclaimer: Crossword clues are property of The New York Times. This educational content is designed to help puzzle enthusiasts improve their solving skills.

Last Updated: August 27, 2025 at 04:26 PM

July 17, 2020 NYT Clues Solutions | XWordHint

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

• Puzzle Overview & Difficulty
• Across Clues (29 clues)
• Down Clues (35 clues)
• Category Breakdown
• Complete Puzzle Statistics
• Pro Solving Tips
• Related Crossword Solutions

Related Puzzles

Check out these other crossword solutions and helpful guides:

• September 15 2023 NYT Clues Solutions
• September 02 2020 NYT Clues Solutions
• December 11 2020 NYT Clues Solutions
• February 24 2022 NYT Clues Solutions
• July 28 2022 NYT Clues Solutions

Puzzle Overview & Difficulty Analysis

Date: Friday, July 17, 2020

Difficulty Level: Moderate Wednesday Puzzle

Total Clues: 64 (29 Across, 35 Down)

Average Word Length: 5.7 letters

Across Clues Explained - Friday NYT Crossword July 17, 2020

No.	Clue	Letters
1A	1. Clear, as the deck	4
2A	5. Nuts (over)	4
3A	9. Some office workers on "Mad Men"	6
4A	11. Greek god of the winds	6
5A	13. Literary profile	15
6A	16. Speed	4
7A	17. Links things?	5
8A	18. Romance novelist Roberts	4
9A	19. Woman's name that means "life"	3
10A	20. Vitamin supplement brand	7
11A	22. Bud	3
12A	23. It forms at the mouth	5
13A	25. Majors in acting	3
14A	26. Not be stuck in one's ways	5
15A	28. Close ones	13
16A	31. Be a bad winner	5
17A	32. Home where the heart is?	5
18A	33. Pinball player's undoing	13
19A	36. Is blessed with	3
20A	37. Flood	7
21A	38. Title locale for a Hemingway novel, with "the"	3
22A	40. Tide competitor	3
23A	41. Sews up	7
24A	42. Strain	3
25A	43. Woman's name in English that's a man's name in Catalan	4
26A	45. What a "R-r-r-ring!" in the kitchen signifies	4
27A	46. Slips, e.g.	15
28A	54. Person with no one to play with	13
29A	55. Names	11

Let's Solve the Across Clues Together!

Here are helpful hints to solve each clue. Remember, crossword puzzles are like word games - have fun with them!

Clue 1 Across: "1. Clear, as the deck"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that implement consisting of a small piece of cotton that is used to apply medication or cleanse a wound or obtain a specimen of a secretion
• Words that mean the same thing: dab, mop, swob
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: SWAB

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 2 Across: "5. Nuts (over)"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that mentally or physically infirm with age
• Words that mean the same thing: dotty, senile, wild
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: GAGA

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 3 Across: "9. Some office workers on "Mad Men""

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: STENOS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 4 Across: "11. Greek god of the winds"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that god of the winds in ancient mythology
• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: AEOLUS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 5 Across: "13. Literary profile"

Quick Info: This answer has 15 letters. It's a hard clue about history.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: _______________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: CHARACTERSKETCH

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 6 Across: "16. Speed"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a easy clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
• Words that mean the same thing: place, charge per unit, value
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: RATE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 7 Across: "17. Links things?"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a heavy open wagon usually having two wheels and drawn by an animal
• Words that mean the same thing: pushcart, go-cart, hale
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: CARTS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 8 Across: "18. Romance novelist Roberts"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about literature.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: NORA

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 9 Across: "19. Woman's name that means "life""

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a medium clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that (old testament) adam's wife in judeo-christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; god created eve from adam's rib and placed adam and eve in the garden of eden
• Words that mean the same thing: eventide, evening, even
• The word looks like this: ___
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: EVE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 10 Across: "20. Vitamin supplement brand"

Quick Info: This answer has 7 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: _______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: GERITOL

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 11 Across: "22. Bud"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities
• Words that mean the same thing: pal up, sidekick, buddy
• The word looks like this: ___
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: PAL

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 12 Across: "23. It forms at the mouth"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a low triangular area of alluvial deposits where a river divides before entering a larger body of water
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: DELTA

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 13 Across: "25. Majors in acting"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that united states filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in america (born in 1957)
• Words that mean the same thing: Robert E. Lee, Henry Lee, Tsung Dao Lee
• The opposite would be: windward
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: LEE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 14 Across: "26. Not be stuck in one's ways"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose
• Words that mean the same thing: conform, accommodate, adjust
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: ADAPT

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 15 Across: "28. Close ones"

Quick Info: This answer has 13 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: _____________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: NEARDISASTERS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 16 Across: "31. Be a bad winner"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that malicious satisfaction
• Words that mean the same thing: glee, gloating, triumph
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: GLOAT

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 17 Across: "32. Home where the heart is?"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that the part of the human torso between the neck and the diaphragm or the corresponding part in other vertebrates
• Words that mean the same thing: chest of drawers, breast, dresser
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: CHEST

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 18 Across: "33. Pinball player's undoing"

Quick Info: This answer has 13 letters. It's a hard clue about sports.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: _____________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: TILTMECHANISM

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 19 Across: "36. Is blessed with"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that (astronomy) the angular distance of a celestial point measured westward along the celestial equator from the zenith crossing; the right ascension for an observer at a particular location and time of day
• Words that mean the same thing: give, cause, induce
• The opposite would be: lack, abstain
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: HAS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 20 Across: "37. Flood"

Quick Info: This answer has 7 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a heavy rain
• Words that mean the same thing: violent stream, downpour, pelter
• The word looks like this: _______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: TORRENT

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 21 Across: "38. Title locale for a Hemingway novel, with "the""

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a medium clue about literature.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
• Words that mean the same thing: ocean
• The word looks like this: ___
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: SEA

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 22 Across: "40. Tide competitor"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that quantifier; used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
• Words that mean the same thing: totally, completely, altogether
• The opposite would be: partly, some
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: ALL

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 23 Across: "41. Sews up"

Quick Info: This answer has 7 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that make certain of
• Words that mean the same thing: assure, secure, insure
• The word looks like this: _______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: ENSURES

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 24 Across: "42. Strain"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that charge against a citizen's person or property or activity for the support of government
• Words that mean the same thing: task, taxation, assess
• The word looks like this: ___
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: TAX

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 25 Across: "43. Woman's name in English that's a man's name in Catalan"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: JOAN

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 26 Across: "45. What a "R-r-r-ring!" in the kitchen signifies"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that carry out or perform an action
• Words that mean the same thing: arrange, through with, through
• The opposite would be: unmake
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: DONE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 27 Across: "46. Slips, e.g."

Quick Info: This answer has 15 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: _______________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: INTIMATEAPPAREL

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 28 Across: "54. Person with no one to play with"

Quick Info: This answer has 13 letters. It's a expert clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: _____________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: SOLOPERFORMER

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 29 Across: "55. Names"

Quick Info: This answer has 11 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that the state of being held in high esteem and honor
• Words that mean the same thing: reputation, report, repute
• The opposite would be: disrepute
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: REPUTATIONS

  Great job if you got it right!

July 17, 2020 Friday NYT - All Down Answers

No.	Clue	Letters
1D	1. Worker in Albany or Sacramento, say	15
2D	2. "Now ___ talking!"	4
3D	3. Tokyo-based carrier	3
4D	4. Game played on a 90-foot-long court	5
5D	5. Painter's mixture	5
6D	6. "Peachy!"	3
7D	7. A stream might run through it	4
8D	8. Hose and belt sellers	15
9D	9. Bald-faced	6
10D	10. Joey Dee's backup group in 1960s pop, with "the"	10
11D	11. One who might grade on the curve?	10
12D	12. Rows	6
13D	13. Street ___	4
14D	14. Western New York natives	5
15D	15. Discontinue	4
16D	20. Choke	7
17D	21. Faint prints, in detective work	7
18D	24. Like Wookiees	4
19D	27. Member of the South Asian diaspora	4
20D	29. One of the Wayans brothers	5
21D	30. Classic western hero who says "A man has to be what he is, Joey. Can't break the mold"	5
22D	33. Nails for kites	6
23D	34. Word on a French wine bottle	3
24D	35. Like bad, bad Leroy Brown vis-à-vis a junkyard dog, in song	6
25D	36. Mideast traveler, of a sort	4
26D	39. Double or triple feat in the Olympics	4
27D	44. View from Memphis	4
28D	45. "Nuts!"	4
29D	47. Challenge for a barber	3
30D	48. "The Problem With ___" (2017 documentary)	3
31D	49. Annual three-day celebration	3
32D	50. Tide competitor	3
33D	51. In the back	3
34D	52. Luau offering	3
35D	53. Backing	3

Now Let's Solve the Down Clues!

Down clues go from top to bottom. Use the letters from your across answers to help!

Clue 1 Down: "1. Worker in Albany or Sacramento, say"

Quick Info: This answer has 15 letters. It's a expert clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: _______________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: STATELEGISLATOR

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 2 Down: "2. "Now ___ talking!""

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)
• Words that mean the same thing: cost, constitute, personify
• The opposite would be: differ
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: WERE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 3 Down: "3. Tokyo-based carrier"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that mother of the ancient irish gods; sometimes identified with danu
• The word looks like this: ___
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: ANA

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 4 Down: "4. Game played on a 90-foot-long court"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a hard clue about sports.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that italian bowling played on a long narrow dirt court
• Words that mean the same thing: bocci, boccie
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: BOCCE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 5 Down: "5. Painter's mixture"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that gypsum or plaster of paris spread on a surface to make it suitable for painting or gilding (or a surface so prepared)
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: GESSO

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 6 Down: "6. "Peachy!""

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ___
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: AOK

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 7 Down: "7. A stream might run through it"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a narrow secluded valley (in the mountains)
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: GLEN

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 8 Down: "8. Hose and belt sellers"

Quick Info: This answer has 15 letters. It's a expert clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: _______________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: AUTOPARTSSTORES

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 9 Down: "9. Bald-faced"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that remove body hair with a razor
• Words that mean the same thing: trim, plane, shaved
• The opposite would be: unshaven
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: SHAVEN

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 10 Down: "10. Joey Dee's backup group in 1960s pop, with "the""

Quick Info: This answer has 10 letters. It's a expert clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: __________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: STARLITERS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 11 Down: "11. One who might grade on the curve?"

Quick Info: This answer has 10 letters. It's a expert clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: __________
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: ARTTEACHER

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 12 Down: "12. Rows"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that food that is discarded (as from a kitchen)
• Words that mean the same thing: combat, fighting, quarrel
• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: SCRAPS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 13 Down: "13. Street ___"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that credibility among young fashionable urban individuals
• Words that mean the same thing: street credibility, street cred
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: CRED

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 14 Down: "14. Western New York natives"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a member of an iroquoian people formerly living on the south shore of lake erie in northern ohio and northwest pennsylvania and western new york
• Words that mean the same thing: Erie, Lake Erie
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: ERIES

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 15 Down: "15. Discontinue"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a easy clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that the state of inactivity following an interruption
• Words that mean the same thing: stoppage, game, stanch
• The opposite would be: start
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: HALT

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 16 Down: "20. Choke"

Quick Info: This answer has 7 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that an instrument of execution for execution by strangulation
• Words that mean the same thing: iron collar, garrotte, scrag
• The word looks like this: _______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: GAROTTE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 17 Down: "21. Faint prints, in detective work"

Quick Info: This answer has 7 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: _______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: LATENTS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 18 Down: "24. Like Wookiees"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a garment size for a tall person
• Words that mean the same thing: marvelous, grandiloquent, improbable
• The opposite would be: short
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: TALL

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 19 Down: "27. Member of the South Asian diaspora"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: DESI

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 20 Down: "29. One of the Wayans brothers"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that the friend of phintias who pledged his life that phintias would return (4th century bc)
• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: DAMON

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 21 Down: "30. Classic western hero who says "A man has to be what he is, Joey. Can't break the mold""

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: _____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: SHANE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 22 Down: "33. Nails for kites"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a sharp hooked claw especially on a bird of prey
• Words that mean the same thing: talon
• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: TALONS

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 23 Down: "34. Word on a French wine bottle"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a medium clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ___
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: CRU

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 24 Down: "35. Like bad, bad Leroy Brown vis-à-vis a junkyard dog, in song"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a hard clue about music.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that approximating the statistical norm or average or expected value
• Words that mean the same thing: base, mean, average
• The word looks like this: ______
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: MEANER

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 25 Down: "36. Mideast traveler, of a sort"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that an arabic term of respect for someone who has made the pilgrimage to mecca
• Words that mean the same thing: hadji, hajji
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: HAJI

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 26 Down: "39. Double or triple feat in the Olympics"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a hard clue about sports.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: AXEL

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 27 Down: "44. View from Memphis"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that the world's longest river (4150 miles); flows northward through eastern africa into the mediterranean; the nile river valley in egypt was the site of the world's first great civilization
• Words that mean the same thing: Nile River
• The word looks like this: ____
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: NILE

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 28 Down: "45. "Nuts!""

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a easy clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that something of little value
• Words that mean the same thing: damned, blamed, hoot
• The opposite would be: bless
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: DAMN

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 29 Down: "47. Challenge for a barber"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a medium clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that cleaning implement consisting of absorbent material fastened to a handle; for cleaning floors
• Words that mean the same thing: wipe up, swob, pout
• The word looks like this: ___
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: MOP

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 30 Down: "48. "The Problem With ___" (2017 documentary)"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a medium clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• The word looks like this: ___
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: APU

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 31 Down: "49. Annual three-day celebration"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that the new year in vietnam; observed for three days after the first full moon after january 20th
• The word looks like this: ___
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: TET

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 32 Down: "50. Tide competitor"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that a period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event
• Words that mean the same thing: geological era, epoch, earned run average
• The word looks like this: ___
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: ERA

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 33 Down: "51. In the back"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that (nautical, aeronautical) situated at or toward the stern or tail
• Words that mean the same thing: astern, abaft
• The opposite would be: fore
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: AFT

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 34 Down: "52. Luau offering"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that hawaiian dish of taro root pounded to a paste and often allowed to ferment
• The word looks like this: ___
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: POI

  Great job if you got it right!

Clue 35 Down: "53. Backing"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

• This could be something that an athlete who plays for pay
• Words that mean the same thing: professional
• The opposite would be: amateur, con
• Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
• Ready for the answer? Click here!

  The answer is: PRO

  Great job if you got it right!

Category Breakdown

Category	Number of Clues	Percentage
General Knowledge	41	64.1%
Short Answer	16	25.0%
Sports	3	4.7%
Literature	2	3.1%
History	1	1.6%
Music	1	1.6%

Complete Puzzle Statistics

Metric	Value
Across Clues	29
Down Clues	35
Total Clues	64
Average Answer Length	5.7 letters
Shortest Answer	3 letters
Longest Answer	15 letters

Fun Tips to Solve Crossword Puzzles!

• Start with short words first - they're usually easier!
• Look for clues with blanks to fill in - these are like fill-in-the-blank questions at school
• When letters cross, they must be the same in both words - this helps you check if you're right!
• Today is Friday, and these puzzles are usually moderate level
• Most clues today are about general knowledge
• The average word today has about 5 letters
• Remember: It's okay to take breaks and come back later with fresh eyes!
• Ask someone for help if you need it - crosswords are more fun with friends!

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Disclaimer: Crossword clues are property of The New York Times. This educational content is designed to help puzzle enthusiasts improve their solving skills.

Last Updated: September 23, 2025 at 08:22 PM